Fluid product spraying device

ABSTRACT

A fluid spray device comprising: a body ( 10 ) provided with a spray orifice ( 15 ), a reservoir ( 20 ) containing the fluid to be sprayed, spray means ( 30 ) for spraying one or more doses of the fluid contained in the reservoir ( 20 ); and actuator means ( 40 ) for actuating said spray means ( 30 ), said reservoir ( 20 ) being closed in sealed manner before the spray device is actuated for the first time, the body ( 10 ) including reservoir opening means ( 11 ) adapted to open said reservoir ( 20 ) while the device is being actuated, said device being characterized in that said reservoir ( 20 ) forms a sealed unit that is separate from said body ( 10 ), said reservoir ( 20 ) being filled with fluid and being sealed hermetically before it is assembled in said body ( 10 ), and in that said body ( 10 ) includes receiver means ( 13 ) for receiving the reservoir, and lateral access means ( 14 ) for enabling said filled reservoir ( 20 ) to be assembled sideways into said body ( 10 ) and to be secured therein.

The present invention relates to a fluid spray device, and moreparticularly to a nasal spray device of the two-dose type, i.e.containing two doses of fluid to be dispensed.

Spray devices of the two-dose type have been developed for numerousapplications, in particular in the field of pharmacy. In particular,such devices are used in the field of nasal sprays. Such a devicegenerally has a reservoir containing two doses of fluid, each dose beingintended for a respective nostril.

Depending on the nature of the fluid, particularly when it is medicine,the filling and storage conditions for the fluid can be quiterestricting. Thus, in the pharmaceutical field, numerous fluids, i.e.liquids or powders, need to be filled in a sterile zone, and need to bestored in a cold room. Existing spray devices are generally filled withfluid after the device has been fully assembled, thereby implyingfilling machines that are specially adapted to the devices in question,which machines must naturally be in sterile zones. After filling, thedevice as a whole must be stored in a cold room. Given the very highcosts of surface area in sterile zones and of cubic capacity in coldrooms, the use of specific filling machines turns out to be a drawbackin terms of cost, and the same applies to storage in a cold room, sincethe volume of a nasal spray device is often rather large.

An object of the present invention is to provide a fluid spray devicewhich does not have the above-mentioned drawbacks.

Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a fluid spraydevice for which the requirements in sterile-zone surface area duringfilling, and in cold-room cubic capacity during storage are as small aspossible.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a fluid spraydevice which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and to assemble,and which operates in reliable manner.

The present invention thus provides a fluid spray device comprising: abody provided with a spray orifice, a reservoir containing the fluid tobe sprayed, spray means for spraying one or more doses of the fluidcontained in the reservoir; and actuator means for actuating said spraymeans, said reservoir being closed in sealed manner before the spraydevice is actuated for the first time, the body including reservoiropening means adapted to open said reservoir while the device is beingactuated, said device being characterized in that said reservoir forms asealed unit that is separate from said body, said reservoir being filledwith fluid and being sealed hermetically before it is assembled in saidbody, and in that said body includes receiver means for receiving thereservoir, and lateral access means for enabling said filled reservoirto be assembled sideways into said body and to be secured therein.

Advantageously, said lateral access means comprise a window provided ina side wall of said body.

Advantageously, said lateral access means comprise twodiametrally-opposite windows.

Advantageously, said receiver means for receiving the reservoir comprisesnap-fastener means for snap-fastening the reservoir in said body.

Advantageously, said reservoir is formed by a hollow tube that is closedin sealed manner by first and second plugs disposed in said tube, thefluid being disposed between said first and second plugs.

Advantageously, the spray means include an axially-displaceable rod thatco-operates with the first plug of said reservoir.

Advantageously, said actuator means include a lateral actuator elementthat is displaceable in a direction that is different from thedisplacement direction of said spray means.

Advantageously, said reservoir opening means include piercing means forpiercing the second plug of the reservoir.

Advantageously, the spray means, the actuator means, and the reservoiropening means are assembled to form a unit, the reservoir beingassembled in said unit after said reservoir has been filled and plugged.

Advantageously, said lateral access means include a removable cover.

Advantageously, the reservoir contains two doses of fluid, said spraymeans and/or said actuator means including dose-fractioning means, sothat each time the device is actuated, one dose of fluid is sprayed.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention appearmore clearly from the following detailed description, given by way ofnon-limiting example, and with reference to the accompanying drawing,and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic section view of a fluid reservoir for a fluidspray device constituting an advantageous embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic section view of a fluid spray deviceconstituting an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, intowhich the FIG. 1 reservoir can be fitted;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to the view in FIG. 2, showing the reservoirsecured inside the device;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to the view in FIG. 3, after the device hasbeen actuated; and

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a fluid spray deviceconstituting an advantageous embodiment of the present invention,showing the device and the reservoir separately.

FIG. 1 shows a reservoir 20 that is adapted to the fluid spray device ofthe present invention. The reservoir forms a sealed unit that isseparate from the remainder of the device, and that is advantageouslyconstituted by a hollow tube 21 which is plugged at each end byrespective first and second sealing plugs 22, 23. This type of reservoircan be made of glass, or of any other suitable material, and the plugs22, 23 can be made of elastomer material, or of any other material thatis suitable for sealing its content inside the reservoir 20 after it hasbeen filled. This type of reservoir is therefore very small in size, inparticular when it contains only two doses of fluid, thereby limitingthe sterile-zone surface area needed for filling the reservoirs, and thecold-room cubic capacity needed for storing said reservoirs after theyhave been filled.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a spray device into which the FIG. 1reservoir can be fitted. The device comprises a body 10 which isprovided with a spray orifice 15. The body 10 comprises opening means 11for opening the reservoir 20, which means could be formed by piercingmeans for example, such as a needle. The needle 11 is preferablystationary relative to the body 10 and is disposed facing, or connectedto, the spray orifice 15, the needle being designed to pierce the secondplug 23 of the reservoir 20 while the device is being actuated. Thespray device further comprises spray means 30, and actuator means 40 foractuating said spray means. Spraying is an important aspect, inparticular for nasal spray devices, which must spray the fluid finely soas to provide optimum therapeutic effectiveness. The spray means 30advantageously include a rod, or an element that is similar to a rod,that is axially displaceable, and that is adapted to co-operate with thefirst plug 22 of the reservoir 20 so as to displace said plug axially asa piston inside the reservoir 20. In known manner, the displacement ofthe first plug 22 inside the reservoir raises the pressure inside saidreservoir, and therefore causes the second plug 23 to be displacedtowards the needle 11, until said needle pierces the plug 23 and putsthe contents of the reservoir 20 into communication with the sprayorifice 15. The actuator means 40 preferably comprise a lateral actuatorelement, i.e. an element which is displaced in a direction that isdifferent from the direction of displacement of the spray means 30. Byway of example, the lateral actuator element 40 can be made as a pivottab which is mounted on the body 10, and which co-operates with thespray means 30 so as to displace said spray means during actuation.Naturally, different spray and actuator means could be envisaged. In thecase of a two-dose device, dose-fractioning means are advantageouslyprovided to split the contents of the reservoir into two doses. Thedose-fractioning means can be provided on the spray means 30 and/or onthe actuator means 40. The dose-fractioning means are not described ingreater detail below since they are not connected directly to thepresent invention, and since they can be of any form.

In the invention, the body 10 includes receiver means 13 for receivingthe reservoir, and lateral access means 14. The lateral access means 14enable the reservoir 20 to be loaded sideways into the body 10, so thatthe reservoir can be assembled inside the body just before the device isused. The reservoir is thus assembled inside a complete unit formed bythe body, the spray means, the actuator means, and the reservoir openingmeans. The lateral access means advantageously include at least onewindow 14 made in a side wall of the body 10. The figures show a body 10including two diametrally-opposite lateral windows 14. The receivermeans 13 for receiving the reservoir can be made in the form ofsnap-fastener means, or of any other suitable means that enable thereservoir 20 to be received securely inside the body 10. Naturally,complementary fastener or abutment means (not shown) can be provided toenable the reservoir to be secured better in the body. A removable cover(not shown) could possibly be provided for the lateral window(s) 14,which cover can be made in any desirable way.

Loading the reservoir sideways into the body therefore enables areservoir to be made separately, to be filled, to be pluggedhermetically, and then to be stored independently from the remainder ofthe spray device. The remainder of the spray device can itself beassembled in a non-sterile zone and stored in a location other than acold room. The reservoir can be assembled inside the body 10 just beforethe device is used, the contents of the reservoir remaining protected bythe sealed plugs 22, 23 until the device is actuated for the first time.Loading the reservoir sideways presents the advantage of making itpossible to use lateral actuation with spray means being displaced inaxial manner, and to assemble the device as a whole, without thereservoir. Assembly of the device is simplified, and the device itselfis also simplified, making a saving in particular of a part that isgenerally required for pre-assembling the reservoir, when said reservoiris to be assembled axially inside the body. The present inventiontherefore enables a fluid spray device to be made that is less costly,that operates in reliable manner, and for which considerable savings canbe made during filling and storage.

Although the invention is described above with reference to a particularembodiment thereof, any modifications could naturally be applied theretoby a person skilled in the art, without going beyond the ambit of thepresent invention as defined by the accompanying claims.

1. A fluid spray device comprising: a body (10) provided with a sprayorifice (15), a reservoir (20) containing the fluid to be sprayed, spraymeans (30) for spraying one or more doses of the fluid contained in thereservoir (20); and actuator means (40) for actuating said spray means(30), said reservoir (20) being closed in sealed manner before the spraydevice is actuated for the first time, the body (10) including reservoiropening means (11) adapted to open said reservoir (20) while the deviceis being actuated, said reservoir (20) forming a sealed unit that isseparate from said body (10), said reservoir (20) being filled withfluid and being sealed hermetically before it is assembled in said body(10), and said body (10) including receiver means (13) for receiving thereservoir, and lateral access means (14) for enabling said filledreservoir (20) to be assembled sideways into said body (10) and to besecured therein, said device being characterized in that said actuatormeans (40) include a lateral actuator element that is displaceable in adirection that is different from the displacement direction of saidspray means (30).
 2. A device according to claim 1, in which saidlateral access means comprise a window (14) provided in a side wall ofsaid body (10).
 3. A device according to claim 2, in which said lateralaccess means comprise two diametrally-opposite windows (14).
 4. A deviceaccording to claim 1 any preceding claim, in which said receiver means(13) for receiving the reservoir comprise snap-fastener means forsnap-fastening the reservoir (20) in said body (10).
 5. A deviceaccording to claim 1, in which said reservoir (20) is formed by a hollowtube (21) that is closed in sealed manner by first and second plugs (22,23) disposed in said tube (21), the fluid being disposed between saidfirst and second plugs (22, 23).
 6. A device according to claim 5, inwhich the spray means (30) include an axially-displaceable rod (31) thatco-operates with the first plug (22) of said reservoir (20).
 7. A deviceaccording to claim 5 or claim 6, in which said reservoir opening means(11) include piercing means for piercing the second plug (23) of thereservoir (20).
 8. A device according to claim 1, in which the body(10), the spray means (30), the actuator means (40), and the reservoiropening means (11) are assembled to form a unit, the reservoir (20)being assembled in said unit after said reservoir has been filled andplugged.
 9. A device according to any preceding claim, in which saidlateral access means (14) include a removable cover.
 10. A deviceaccording to any preceding claim, in which the reservoir (20) containstwo doses of fluid, said spray means (30) and/or said actuator means(40) including dose-fractioning means, so that each time the device isactuated, one dose of fluid is sprayed.